Keema Pulao – Guest Post by Tanvi @ Sinfully Spicy

It’s been a relaxed week so far! The first few days were a little tough due to bad jet-lag. All I did was lots of sleeping and lots of eating. After all, that’s what vacation is all about 🙂

Keeping the holiday mood in full swing, today we have Tanvi sharing this colorful Keema Pulao, which is bursting out with flavors!

Her blog has always welcomed the viewers with gorgeous photographs and mouth-watering dishes.Her food styling skills and the stories behind the recipes are filled with entertainment and inspiration. This friend of mine is very talented. Some of my favorites are Indian Spiced Lamb Chop, Mango Kulfi Falooda and this beautifully presented Pannacota.

Thank you Tanvi for taking out some time during this busy season 🙂

Tanvi @ Sinfully Spicy

1.Tell us a little about you and your family?

I come from a big, joint, north indian family. Growing up we had lots of members in the house and hence lot of buzz in the kitchen always. I owe all my knowledge of cooking to my grandmother & mom and it’s my continual effort to recreate the taste of their hands in my kitchen. After marriage, I shifted base to USA and have been living in Las Vegas since then with my husband. We love home cooked meals prepared from fresh & seasonal ingredients.

2. Why the name ‘ Sinfully Spicy’ ?

Sinfully Spicy was born as a way to showcase my love for indian spices. Me and my husband adore spicy food. We rarely eat a meal, which is not topped with red chili pepper flakes or lacks spices. We are ‘sinfully’ in love with spices 🙂 The masaldaan (indian spice box), which my mom gave me before coming to USA, is the most precious item in my kitchen and is the soul of my cooking. The blog is a humble effort to make traditional & fusion indian cuisine approachable to everyone who wants to cook indian food in their home kitchens.

3. How has the experience of blogging been so far?

Blogging has been really enjoyable so far. I love how it has become a creative outlet for me in addition to the fact that I was able to touch so many people around the world who feel about food the same way as I do. I have picked up some knowledge about food writing, photography & art of communication, which I hope to build upon in the coming years.

Hello to all the readers of Kankana’s blog! She is a lovely friend and it’s a huge pleasure to share her space today. I have been in touch with kankana via twitter for over 6 months now and she is full of warmth, energy & enthusiasm, which reflects in each of her blogposts. Her blog is full of mouth-watering dishes from different cuisines and whenever I land at her page, I leave hungry and smiling 🙂 Thanks so much for having me here!

I have wanted to share this minced mutton rice pilaf recipe for a long time & knowing Kankana’s liking for non-vegetarian food, this was a perfect opportunity. This recipe combines three of my loves into one – meat, potatoes & rice. It is a super comforting & easy meal, which is usually a weekend special at my home.

Keema is any kind of minced meat (chicken, mutton, lamb, beef) in Hindi. Since the meat is minced, the cooking time is way less and though you may or may not add potatoes to this pilaf, I really like the combination with rice. The recipe is very easy and comes out delicious and hearty.It can be served as a great side dish or a meal on its own.

Ingredients :

1 cup basmati rice

2 cups water (or as required for cooking your rice variety)

3 tbsp mustard/canola oil

2 bay leaves

2″ cinnamon stick

4 cloves

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp black peppercorns (or to taste)

2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)

2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 cup finely chopped tomatoes

1 lb lamb/mutton, minced

1 large potato, peeled & cut into cubes

10-12 fresh mint leaves, chopped

Salt to taste

Chopped cilantro/mint leaves for garnish

Directions :

Pick and clean the rice. Wash under running stream of water. Set aside.

In a heavy bottomed, wide mouthed pot, heat oil to smoking point on high. Once smoking, reduce heat to medium, wait for 2 minutes and then add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, & cloves to the pot.

Once the spices crackle & you smell the aroma in about 20 seconds, add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook on medium till onions start to turn brown. About 5-6 minutes.

Add the pounded cumin, black peppercorn,fennel & coriander seeds next and sauté for another 30 seconds.

Next add the ginger-garlic paste along with tomatoes & red chili powder. Cook on medium for another 6-7 minutes till you see oil separating on sides of the pot.

At this point, turn the heat high and add the minced meat & potatoes. Cook the meat on high with continuous stirring (not mushing) till it changes color. You will also see fat & water separating from the meat but keep on cooking on high for 8-10 minutes.

Once the meat has browned, add the washed basmati rice along with chopped mint leaves. Add the 2 cups of water (or as required) for cooking. Since the mince will leave more water as it cooks, I suggest less water than required.

Let the rice soak for 30 minutes.

After the rice has soaked, cover the pot and let the contents come to a boil on high. About 8 minutes.

Once boiling, reduce heat to low and let rice cook covered till done. About 10 minutes. After rice is cooked, put the heat off and let the rice sit covered for another 15 minutes, undisturbed.

Open the lid, fluff the rice with fork and garnish with chopped cilantro/mint.

Iva | in my kitchen

I buy Basmati rice yet never get such long grain once cooked. Is this a special type of Basmati? Thanks for the recipe!

Kankana

November 14, 2011 at 2:47 AM

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. I usually use Kohinoor Basmati rice which has long grains like the ones showing in the picture. This dis is however made by my friend Tanvi and will ask her to respond you about the same.

Hi Savorique, I buy usual basmati rice available in American/Indian stores.You might want to check if you get whole grain basmati variety coz broken varieties are also available out there.secondly, it is very important to let the basmati soak in stock/water for atleast 30-40 minutes before cooking to get most flavor and texture.hope this helps!

Thanks for the guest post, Tanvi! I’m always amazed at what I learn when I come to Kankana’s blog. There’s always something new, and it’s really opened my eyes up to different cuisines. Wonderful photos!

Looks perfect for the weather Kankana! Yes, the Tomato Chutney is similar to the Bengali version but without the addition of dates and the thicker consistency. Have you done a post on the Bengali version? Thanks!

I’m always inspired by Tanvi’s food styling and photography. You two have been my great inspiration! I still have basmati rice and I have all these ingredients at home so I need to try this recipe one day. It looks so delicious and this will be a perfect lunch menu for our family.

Hey Kankana, thanks for bringing over Tanvi. She’s one of my favorite bloggers and each time I visit I keep drooling at her appetizing food shots. Just like this pulao–ohhh YUM!!

Preethi

January 24, 2012 at 4:58 AM

I am so trying this out since I have kheema sitting in the fridge although it is chicken kheema so might have to reduce cooking time is my guess…ur blog is such a ‘sunny’ blog to read u know…makes for light reading and a lot of salivating 😉

About

Hey there! I am Kankana and this is my culinary space where I unfold memories, share stories and try new flavours. Easy effortless cooking with fresh ingredients is my mantra and I like to carry that in my everyday meal.